NRS issues crypto tax guidelines as companies face 30% income tax

Medium and large companies in Nigeria that earn profits from cryptocurrency and other virtual asset transactions will face a 30% income tax on their crypto gains under new tax guidelines issued by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).

The new Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets were released on Monday through a public notice by the agency, which said the framework applies to companies, individual taxpayers, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, and other participants in Nigeria’s digital asset ecosystem.

The development comes weeks after President Bola Tinubu signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, tokenised assets, and other digital assets across government agencies.

What they are saying

According to the NRS, companies that derive profits from virtual asset activities will be liable to income tax under the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, with companies other than small companies subject to the 30% corporate income tax rate.

• “Applicable rates under the NTA include Progressive rates for individuals, and 30% for companies other than small companies,” the guidelines stated under the rates and collection mechanism.

The guidelines cover taxable income from crypto trading, operation of virtual asset exchanges, transaction fees, brokerage commissions, custody and wallet services, token issuance, mining, staking, decentralised finance (DeFi) activities, investment gains, and other virtual asset business operations.

• “The issuance of these Guidelines is part of the Service’s commitment to providing clarity, certainty, and consistency in the administration of Nigeria’s tax laws as they relate to the rapidly evolving virtual asset ecosystem,” the agency stated.

The NRS said the framework is intended to promote voluntary compliance, improve transparency in digital asset transactions, and support the development of a fair and efficient tax regime for the sector.

More insights

The new guidelines do more than impose taxes on virtual asset transactions; they also clarify several activities that do not automatically attract tax, providing greater certainty for crypto investors and businesses.

According to the NRS, simply holding cryptocurrencies or other virtual assets is not a taxable event. Any increase in the value of a digital asset while it is being held remains untaxed until the asset is sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of in a taxable transaction.

The guidelines also exempt transfers of virtual assets between wallets owned and controlled by the same individual from income tax, provided there is no change in beneficial ownership. This means that moving Bitcoin, Ether, or other digital assets between a person’s own wallets does not constitute a taxable disposal.

However, the exemption does not extend to transfers involving companies, partnerships, trusts, unincorporated associations, or other legal entities, where the tax treatment may differ.

The NRS said these non-taxable events may still establish the cost base for future disposals, meaning taxpayers will need to maintain records of acquisitions and transfers for future tax calculations.

The guidelines also state that unrealised gains are not subject to income tax, meaning tax is triggered only when a taxable disposal occurs, rather than when the market value of a cryptocurrency increases while it is being held.

Get up to speed

The new tax rules form part of the federal government’s broader effort to establish a coordinated oversight framework for virtual assets in Nigeria.

Under the executive order signed by President Tinubu, a Virtual Asset Council was created to coordinate regulatory oversight across key agencies. The council is chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serve as vice chairs.

Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). The council is expected to improve regulatory coordination, provide policy direction, and support the development of a harmonised legal framework for the virtual asset industry.

The executive order also established a Virtual Asset Office within the CBN to coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.

What you should know

Nigeria has spent the past years expanding regulatory oversight of the cryptocurrency market as digital assets become increasingly integrated into the country’s financial system.

• Crypto usage has evolved beyond investment and trading, with digital assets increasingly being used for cross-border payments and international money transfers. Industry data shows that about 40% of Nigerians use cryptocurrency for international money transfers, significantly above the global average of 11%.
• Regulatory oversight has also intensified in recent months. Earlier in July, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) admitted seven additional companies into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), expanding the number of digital asset firms operating under the commission’s regulatory sandbox while broader oversight reforms continue to take shape.

Under the new NRS guidelines, companies operating in the virtual asset sector will be expected to comply with registration, reporting, withholding, VAT, and record-keeping obligations, while non-compliance could attract penalties, including fines of N10 million for VASP non-compliance and additional monthly penalties for continued default.